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State Supreme Court Race Devolves into Battle Over Last Name

In the race for a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court, the male candidate is accusing the female candidate of using her maiden name to score political points over the high recognition of the name of the Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, even though they are only distantly related. From the Associated Press:

Despite lofty legal issues pending before the state's highest court, the hottest topic in a face-off between Justice Will T. Scott and challenger Janet Stumbo is why she isn't using her married name, Pillersdorf.

The question has two respected Appalachian jurists caught up in what sounds like petty bickering but could sway the election.

In the mountains of eastern Kentucky, the name Stumbo is synonymous with political power. House Speaker Greg Stumbo, the Prestonsburg Democrat, is one of the most recognizable politicians in the state. And former state Democratic Party Chairman Grady Stumbo, a Hindman physician, remains one of the mountain region's best known political commentators.

Janet Stumbo served two terms on the Kentucky Supreme Court but was defeated by Scott in her bid for a third. This is their rematch, and it's getting personal:

"It just seems to me like it's a criticism of the way I'm conducting my marriage," Janet Stumbo said. "He's, frankly, the last person I would listen to in regard to how to conduct a marriage."

That was an apparent reference to Scott's four marriages, all of which ended in divorce.

"I've been married to some very wonderful ladies," he said. "I'm sorry they didn't work out."